


Louis

by jacinth



Category: One Direction (Band)
Genre: Boss/Employee Relationship, Harry's a sneaky shit, Jealousy, M/M, Marriage Proposal, Oblivious Louis, Personal Assistant Louis, Possessiveness, True Love, Unrequited Love, What else is new
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-12-18
Updated: 2016-12-18
Packaged: 2018-09-09 14:25:07
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,133
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8894125
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/jacinth/pseuds/jacinth
Summary: After five years as a personal assistant to the man he's secretly in love with, Louis is prepared for just about everything... except a cup of coffee and a marriage proposal.





	

**Author's Note:**

> After everything that's happened this month, I wanted to post something quick and didn't have much time to write so I finished one of the WIPs on my laptop.
> 
> I apologize for any mistakes!

“ _You’re late._ ”

I quickly glanced at my watch before turning my wrist in my boss’s direction. “I’m two minutes early. Sir.”

“Harry.” Harry corrected, glaring down at me as he took his coffee from the tray I was holding. “And it feels like you’re late. I haven’t seen you in-” He grabbed my wrist and made a show of tilting his head to look at my watch, “ten hours. This coffee is cold.”

I rolled my eyes. We both knew perfectly well that Harry had his own damn coffee making contraption and expensive bloody imported beans that he ground himself in the kitchen, but God forbid he pass up a chance to make me run across town to get his coffee from his favourite (chosen at random) shop.

“I have to sleep sometime, sir.” I replied patiently.

“Harry.” He corrected for what had to be the billionth time. I ignored him as always, glancing down at the extra cup Harry had me order before looking around the room.

“Should I bring this to Alex? Or just leave it until he comes down?” I tried and mostly succeeded in keeping the acid from my tone when I spoke the current _boy-toy’s_ name. Thankfully, it seemed Harry was totally unaware of my jealousy and thought my distaste stemmed from thinking Alex was a distraction. If he knew the real reason, well, I wouldn’t be standing here.

“Alex isn’t here...” Harry said slowly, looking up from his phone like I was a complete and utter imbecile. “Why would you give your coffee to Alex?”

“Mine, sir?” I looked at it in confusion. “I thought it was for Alex.”

“I haven’t been seeing him for almost two months now.”

“Huh,” I shrugged. “I guess I didn’t notice, sir.”

Harry frowned at that, as if anything I did affected him in any way. Which believe me, it did not.

In the five years I’d been working for Harry, he barely cared a snit for anything I did or didn't do. It’s not as if he ignored me, we were friends, I supposed, but I also knew my place. Previous employees had been sacked for taking liberties or assuming they were part of Harry’s inner-circle based purely on the fact that they worked closely with him. Even after surviving five years as PA to the head of the Styles family company, I wasn't accustomed to being included unnecessarily. Silly as it might have been, the coffee totally threw me.

Harry’s face changed, softening into a rare, genuine smile. “You know, when you first started working for me, I thought the whole unassuming, gossip avoiding, putting everyone before yourself thing was a ploy to get on my good side.”

I bit my lip to hide a smile and placed the coffee tray on the glossy marble table. I paced to the other side for a little distance, but kept my tone playful as I spoke. “And how do you know that I’m not a gossip when I’m elsewhere, sir?”

Harry placed his phone down and walked around the table, rendering my attempt at space void by coming a little too close for comfort. He perched there on the edge of the table barely two feet from where I stood behind one of the high-back leather chairs, his large hands resting casually on either side of himself. “For starters, after half a decade at my side, you know what I’m capable of. I keep a sharp eye on all of my employees. Nothing gets by me, Louis, you know that.”

My eyes widened slightly before I forced my features into blankness with a fool’s hope that he hadn’t caught it. Of course I’d always assumed he kept a close eye on things… but I never thought of myself as important enough to actually _be_ one of those things.

I realized then with no small dose of mortification, that _if_ Harry was indeed monitoring me as thoroughly as he did everything else, then he was clued in to my total lack of a love life. Which, by the way was partly - _a very large part_ \- his fault, as on any of the rare occasions I had attempted to go out on a date, Harry managed to send me off on some ridiculous errand that would force me to cancel…

 _Bloody Hell_.

“Surely this doesn’t surprise you,” Harry said, unwittingly responding to my epiphany. He tilted his head, eyes narrowing imperceptibly as he tapped his fingers silently against the table’s edge.

“No,” I shook my head. _Was it too much to hope that a fiery tunnel straight to Hell would open beneath my feet this very second?_ “It, no, it doesn’t surprise me, sir. I just...I assumed I wasn’t important enough.”

The corners of Harry’s mouth twitched. “You _would_ assume that.”

I shrugged. Previous to my employment, Harry had eight different assistants, all of whom he had either deemed incompetent and sacked, or slept with and then sacked. Finally, Harry’s mother Anne - who typically kept out of his affairs - had enough of his childish behavior and hired someone herself. That’s where I came in.

Technically my first real job out of uni, I’d been excited and determined to make a good impression. But as I learned the hard way, nothing ever goes according to the plan one maps out. Harry, goddamn stubborn arse, was anything but fond of me on our first meeting. Meaning: he thought I was boring while I thought he was a twat. Despite the mutual dislike, I was still very determined to keep the job and made damn sure he had no reason to complain about my competence. Only later did I discover Anne’s idea to hire someone her son wouldn’t be attracted to and that I’d fit the bill. While hurt, I hadn’t exactly been surprised either. I’d always been aware of my aesthetic shortcomings, and with a love of home-cooked meals and sweets, and a lack of time to exercise properly, I wasn’t what one would call fit. Not that it mattered, I had no one to please but myself.

So here we were, five years later and Anne’s plan had worked, sort of. I would always feel like an absolute fool for letting myself love Harry when I knew damn well there was a _minus zero_ chance of it ever being returned. Not in the way I wished, at least. Harry was beautiful and I… well. I often have the misfortune of playing ‘ _Morning After Sweep Up_ ’ which forces me to meet and speak to most of the men and women Harry takes to his bed. And wasn’t that a _joy_.

All of them, whether male or female, were absolutely gorgeous and stylish. Models, socialites, actresses, musicians, you name it. Harry’s latest fling, Alexander, was a model; tall, lean, blond, and perfect. I was certain he’d be the one that Harry would keep. At least until he found himself some pretty girl to marry and continue the family legacy.

“Why wouldn’t I assume that, sir?” I finally asked, “I’m still the same plain bird I was when you met me. I can’t imagine why you would.”

Harry’s lips quirked again as though he were amused by some joke that only he himself was privy to. “You were never plain, Louis.”

I felt my face heat and knew I was undoubtedly turning a repellent shade of red. My stomach rolled as his words sat uncomfortably between us. I knew what was coming, and wasn’t sure I could bear it again. Regrettably, despite my total lack of appeal as a long-term romantic partner, I was adept at shutting down sexual advances from my boss. It happened each time he was between lovers or alternatively when he got piss drunk. As fervently as I loved the man, I wouldn’t become some dilapidated placeholder until something better inevitably came along.

The very thought had me narrowing my eyes at him. “Sir.”

Harry smirked back. “Louis,”

“ _Sir_.”

“ _Louis_.”

I took a few quick steps back, hoping to distract him before he started his business. “Sir, you have a-”

He followed, looking amused. I realized then that he knew exactly what I was doing. Awful man. Deplorable man. _Mine_.

 **No**.

“You have a meeting at-” I gasped as his lips touched mine, and damn it all, I allowed myself to kiss back for one brief, breathless second before pushing him away.

The first time this had happened I wasn’t wise to Harry’s ways, and foolishly, almost allowed him to seduce me. We’d made it all the way to his bed, and I, being a stupid, idealistic, virgin at the time, assumed it meant more than it did. And when Harry had unwittingly made it clear that I was only there because he was horny and I was close, I’d shoved him off me and scrambled from the bed. Harry, astute as he was, understood immediately what was happening and caught me before I could reach the front door. He’d apologized for sending the wrong message and explained that he didn’t do relationships, and that when he _did_ settle down, it would be with a woman, abiding by his family’s wishes. From then on, whenever Harry decided he was bored enough to fuck me, I simply brushed him off and we moved on. Did I hate him for making me fall in love with him when he would never love me back? Sometimes, but at the end of the day I knew it was all down to me, and my feelings. I dealt with them. I was fine. Sporadically.

“We both have work to do, sir.” I stated, quiet and firm. This would be the end of it for now, at least. “You have a meeting-”

“Cancel everything today.”

I looked up at him in confusion but nodded. “Yes, sir. Anything else?”

The muscle in Harry’s jaw twitched, adding to my confusion as it was a sign that he was angry, and I couldn’t imagine why he would be, this was not the first time we’d been through this and likely wouldn’t be the last. It was however, the first time Harry had gotten angry at me for it.

“I have a name, Louis.”

Unsure of how I was expected to respond, I clasped my hands in front of myself and nodded again. “Yes, sir.”

“I’ve given you permission to use it,” Harry snapped, “ _demanded_ it even! More than once. Why do you obey everything else I say except that?”

Oh.

I forced myself not to fidget as I spoke. “I just… I think it’s better, the less personal we are. That’s all.”

Harry’s anger visibly increased with each word I uttered and it set my heart pounding. Sometimes I forgot who he was. “ _Explain that to me_. How is it better? Hm? We spend almost every second together. Do you not think a friendship would be beneficial? I mean, I assumed we were already friends, but I was wrong I guess, hm?”

He didn’t understand, and I could admit my fault in that. I started to explain, getting as far as “Sir-!” before he was suddenly right there again. Startled, I took a few steps back, flinching when my tailbone bumped the table.

“My name, Louis.” Harry growled. “Say my name.”

I frowned at him. He was behaving so strangely this morning. “Sir-’’

“ ** _Say. It_**.”

Swallowing thickly, I took a deep breath, letting the name leave my lips on an exhale. “ _Harry_.”

It had barely left my lips before Harry was there, smothering the sound with his own mouth. He was persistent today. I just hoped I was strong enough to resist. The emotional ruin on my part was unfathomable if I didn’t. Keeping that in mind helped. A little.

I tried to pull away to no avail, he just held me tighter, refusing to give me an inch. Perhaps he thought I’d changed my mind on the topic of casual sex, but I hadn’t. I desired him more than anything, and that was exactly the reason I still could not, and would not, allow it. “Stop,” I plead, pushing at his shoulders. “I told you, s- Harry, I can’t.”

“Why is that?” Harry murmured, laying kisses across my cheekbone. “Why can you not give yourself to the man who loves you?”

“You know why!” I pushed again, wondering if I could climb over the table without making a spectacle of myself-- “What?” I felt my eyes beginning to cross as I stared at him in bewilderment. When Harry smiled, a bolt of rage flash inside me. “You’re laughing at me! How dare you-”

Harry gripped my arms tightly and pulled me hard against him as I struggled. “No, Louis. I do. I love you. I love you more than I’ve ever loved anything in my life.”

I shook my head in disbelief, unable to reconcile what I was hearing with anything that had happened in the last five years. “You’re mental!”

“Refuse me,” Harry breathed, leaning close. “Tell me no, but I love you, and I know you love me, Louis, I know you do. I will not let you deny us this. I’ll keep asking, keep pushing, I’ll follow you to the ends of the earth until I convince you to be mine. So you might as well save us both the trouble.”

I didn’t deny his words, how could I when he spoke the truth? But it was impossible. What he was offering was impossible. “But. You said-”

“I know what I said, sweetheart.” He kissed my nose. “It was true when I said it, and it would still be true if you hadn’t come along. You’re worth fighting for, Louis. If my family doesn’t like it then fuck them. I want you.”

I stared at him, letting it all sink in. Everything I’d ever wanted was being handed to me, rather unexpectedly, mind you, not that I was one to look a gift horse in the mouth. Still, I couldn’t shake my shock. I wanted...oh how I wanted, but… “Are you sure? Because if you’re not, I can’t-”

Harry kissed me again, lips warm and silky, causing a shiver to roll down my spine. “I’ve been sure from the first taste,” He admitted quietly. “That night, God, that night I wanted you so badly. I wanted to just pull you back to bed and fuck you hard until we both forgot the stupid, stupid thing I said.” I blushed so hotly I was certain my face would melt from my skull like hot cheese. I choked on a laugh at the thought, earning an odd look from Harry.

“I was hanging by a thread, I might have let you.” I admitted. “Though it would have hurt a lot worse in the morning when I realized I was just another-”

Squeezing his eyes closed, Harry cursed. “I’m sorry I hurt you, Louis. I should have made you stay.”

“I…” I reached up to take his face between my hands, “I understand. I didn’t at the time, but after spending time in your world, I understand the pressures you face.” The fond smile on his face was almost enough to keep me from speaking the next words. Almost. “And that’s exactly why I can’t do this.”

“Louis-”

As I backed away I had to fight the stinging hot tears that threatened to spill. “I won’t make you choose between your family and me. I’m not worth it, sir-”

Harry’s emerald eyes grew black with a darkness I’d only ever witnessed when he was in his most infuriated state, and never before had it been directed at me. Before I could even blink I was being lifted onto the table with Harry’s warm, muscled body pushing my thighs apart. “Don't make it difficult Harry, please-” My breath hitched when Harry rolled his hips and leaned down to suck at the sensitive curve of my throat as arousal rendered my body powerless to fight him.

“I let you go once.” Harry mouthed the words into my skin before pulling back to stare into my eyes, and once again my sense drowned in the depths of emerald green. “Never again. Marry me, Louis.”

I stared at him in disbelief, sure I’d misheard.

Harry sighed and touched our foreheads together, “ _That look_. That look of utter shock that you can never hide, so unassuming in the face of the eagerness and greed I see whenever anyone else looks at me. Just one of the endless reasons I adore you so much. You’re like nothing I’ve ever known, Louis, you’re my best friend, and you mean more to me than anything or anyone. Do not call it a choice between you and my family. It’s not a choice, there’s only you.” He kissed me lightly and wiped his thumbs across my cheeks, making me realize the tears I’d been fighting had won after all. “ _Marry me_ ,” he asked again, his voice nothing but a rough whisper.

“But...but we’re not even dating,” I replied weakly.

Harry stared at me for a moment before bursting into a fit of laughter. My whole body went rigid, a thousand awful thoughts playing in my mind. What if- “ _No, no, no_ , sweetheart.” Harry spoke quickly, pressing a kiss to my lips, warm and reassuring. “I see where your mind is heading. I meant every word. I was only laughing because you assumed dating matters. Going on dates is nothing but an excuse for people to sample each other like sweets in a shop without buying anything. I don’t want a sample, Lou. I want to keep you. Forever.”

Unable to help myself, I ran my fingers through his thick hair. “This is sudden, I’m just… I’m afraid to say yes. I want to, God, I want to.”

“Then say yes,” He kissed me again. “Let me take care of you... let me love you.”

I exhaled, letting a smile stretch my lips as I nodded. “Yes.”

Harry smiled in a way that took my breath and pulled me into a hug. “ _My Lou_.”

The warmth of his arms felt like home and I let myself hold him close as I tried to wrap my head around it all. In the dark, often sleepless hours of the night when I lie in bed, thoughts tangled and unsettled, I sometimes allow myself to fantasize about this, Harry telling me he loves me or maybe a kiss. Never a proposal. I never once dared to fantasize about that. I never dared to dream.

I smiled, nuzzling the side of his neck. “ _My Harry_.”

Life sure has a way of taking everything you think you know and rearranging it all.

This time though, I couldn’t bring myself to complain about it.

**Author's Note:**

> New tumblr: iamjacinth.tumblr.com
> 
> I hope you enjoyed!
> 
> Let me know! I love reading your comments :) xo.


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